Episode Discussion - 7.08 - The Itchy Brain Simulation

[galfridian]

Comments

[revdorothyl]

Did NOT love the "Penny is an incompetent waitress" stuff once again, among so many other annoyances about the way Penny's been portrayed in recent episodes (heck, in recent YEARS!), but I DID thoroughly enjoy and actually laugh out loud at Sheldon actually winning at a far more subtle and sophisticated 'prank' than anyone gave him credit for being able to pull off

[gamma12]

Oh, I agree with the Sheldon plot. I actually enjoyed that part of the story. It was definitely more vintage Sheldon. The fixation on the pranks kind of reminded me of the Vengeance Formulation. He sets up this elaborate prank on Kripke, but still manages to get Leonard with a whoopee cushion. I really liked the interaction between the two of them tonight.

[idlemiscreant]

Vintage Sheldon? Forsooth! Yes, I've seen signs that elegant bastard's re-emerging from whatever hickville winnebago he spent season 5 and 6 camped in. Looks promising.
Will bribe my pal into downloading this episode, and report back.
I must remember to come HERE rather than the orange forum, where I invariably turn into Ranty McWhingebag...
Incidentally, there's a NEW ONE [Sheldon's voice there, obviously] on the P&S Shippers thread....I KNOW it's one of you lot...Confess dammit!

[gamma12]

Yes, I was reading some of the comments about the episode on the other forum and it was mostly panned or damed with faint praise. Sheldon being mean to Leonard. It's the first time I have more than cracked a smile in several episodes.

Still hate the Penny is a stupid, incompetent waitress storyline.

[sat_night_815]

Me too gamma, but then I knew if the forum fans disliked it, then I would probably enjoy it immensely. :)

[cid_90]

You inspire me to see this ep. Thanks.
I'm still desperate about the whole spoiler of ep 10

[shellsyke]

Interesting that the old Sheldon is starting to emerge. Also, Amy is looking more sad and resigned lately. That look when she told Sheldon his plot was diabolical and then her reaction when he said something about waiting so many years to get satisfaction. Also her facial expression when she and Sheldon were at her apartment. She does NOT look happy, especially when she is around Sheldon, but she doesn't look angry, just very, very sad.

Did you notice the sexy glances between Penny and Sheldon when he asked her to smell his flower? Sure, the flower ended up being a prank, and he wasn't going out of his way to get Penny to fall for his prank (unlike Amy who he kept INSISTING smell his flower...he wanted to squirt her face), but Sheldon raising his eyebrows in a challenging way and Penny reacting by giving a little seductive grin.

What the hell is up with the way they are dressing Penny? She looks like a lumberjack.

[gamma12]

Yeah and when Sheldon asked what Amy thought the flower smelled.like she said sadness? I thought that was weird.

They dressed Penny in clothes that emphasized her shoulders- so yeah she looked.like a linebacker. I don't know why they would do that.

[ext_2255448]

Could it be that they're preparing to break Shamy up? I too noticed that Amy looked really depressed and disappointed this episode.

[franessi]

Nah. If we were to go with Amy's reactions, the Shamy should have broken up long time ago. Her *disappointed* reactions are only a part of the on-going efforts to portray Amy as the long-suffering partner and to maintain the "wise female" persona the writers have designated for her. The actress doesn't help to soften the edges either

[gamma12]

That's why I will never understand the appeal of this pair. I don't think the pairing makes either party look good. Sure for a while Amy will garner sympathy but there comes a time that most viewers that are not die-hard Shamy people will just wonder why she doesn't move on. What the writers have done too is diminish the appeal of Sheldon. Do they think that the show is popular enough that it can carried on the strengths of the ensemble? I don't know. It will be interesting to see how the ratings go for the rest of the season. Reading different boards I would not be surprised if people were becoming tired of the show. I know I am really tired of the mean tone the writers have taken with the characters(Sheldon, Penny, and Raj especially). I don't really want to watch characters being disassembled for our amusement.

[sat_night_815]

So true gamma. I know I am getting pretty tired of the show lately. I am now deliberately missing episodes on more of a routine basis as the season progresses. This was something I NEVER used to do. I won't be watching the thanksgiving episode tonight since I think the taping report was amply sufficient. If I miss anything Earth shattering, then I'm sure you guys will catch me up (oh, I sound just like Leonard). :/

[franessi]

"They don't believe in equals on this show. They have succeeded in making Amy liked because she grimaces behind Sheldon's back and is seen to endure him, like she's some wonderful person for putting up with him."

I'm afraid this is true. But isn't it funny how Sheldon and his idiosyncrasies and the way Amy reacts to him are what they are using to make the Amy character sympathetic? They do the same thing with Leonard to a great extent too i.e. they draw a lot of the sympathy for that character from the fact that he has to deal with someone like Sheldon. Eliminate a character like Sheldon and how are Leonard and Amy going to play the victim card anymore?

But I personally don't find the bitter, mean reactions by Amy and Leonard fun to watch at all, and I find it sad that for the "hero and the heroin" of the show to look wise, mature, sympathetic and justified, the show needs to constantly beat the other characters down.

"Also the actress is just not good enough. She's lacking that vital ingredient which the character needs to keep

[shellsyke]

Like when she was singing Neil Diamond. Also, I still crack up at the tiara bit and when she wanted to include the line, "Cuz we be dropping science son!" and she was so giddy about that.